The invention of specials
by xXxVampireBridexXx
Summary: This is about what Dr. Cable went through before she came up with specials.There's not much more for me to say so if you want to find out more read it. rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the ugly series, Scott Westerfeld does. _

_Hi everyone. This is my first story so please read and review._

_I need all the help I can get. Enjoy._

The realization of a dream

Dr. Cable was a regular intern at a regular hospital. Her days of tricks are over. She had had her share of fun as an Ugly. Being one of the first to trick the dorm minders, sneaking out almost out almost every day during the summer. The Pretty Operation had only existed for a few years when it was her turn for that perfect life. She had never imagined herself as a regular pretty. She wanted more than cheap thrills and a meaningless life. Surely she could get a job but as what? A boring government official who doesn't even pay attention to runaway Uglies? No, she wanted more. An exciting life with a new feeling. An icy feeling. A special feeling. That feeling she craved led her to her search for a new kind of government official, a person who could rescue runaways ruining their lives in the wild. A new life, a whole new being. People who play by their own rules, above any government. That search led to the invention of Specials.

_I know it's short but this is only the beginning. The next chapter is much better, trust me. Please review._


	2. The search begins

_Well here is chapter 2, enjoy . Read and review._

The search begins

(Dr. Cable's pov)

"Cable, if your going to work here then pay attention," said her instructor.

"Sorry sir"

"Now, if you want to view your first operation today then you need to stay focused."

"Yes sir. "

"You have a meeting in five minutes, I suggest you hurry."

"Yes sir."

Thank god that's over. I know he's my instructor and all but why does he have to be such a pain? But a pain I guess I have to listen to if I want to if I want to see the Pretty Operation anytime soon. To even think about making a Special I need to be an expert at the Pretty Operations. If only Mr. Pain in the Butt would listen to my idea of a new kind of operation this would be easier. Well, I'll show him, I'll show all the doctors that I'm not crazy. Specials will be a reality.

( Dr. Valen's pov)

Why did they make me that nut case's instructor? She can't even perform a Pretty Operation and she already thinks she can invent, oh what did she call it, a Special? She's insane, but only an intern would have such wacky ideas I suppose. No one will ever take her seriously if she keeps babbling about some super powered person. She needs to get a grip on reality.

"Dr. Valen your needed in Conference Room B," advised a nurse.

"I'm on my way now."

(Dr. Cable's pov)

I guess it's worth going through three stupid meetings if I get to see my first Pretty operation. Let's see, my first meeting is in Conference Room B in…one minute. Second meeting in Conference Room A at three o'clock, and one more meeting in Conference Room C at four o'clock. After meeting three I get to go see the operation. I have to remember to pay attention at my third meeting. I finally get a chance to see an operation and I need to pay attention to our instructions.

"Take a seat Cable," instructed Dr. Valen.

"Yes sir." Crap, am I really that late? Maybe he just doesn't like me much, he never did.

"Cable,"he snapped.

"Yes?"

"You need to pay attention like all the other interns."

"Yes sir," I replied weakly.

"As I was saying, this afternoon you will all be observing your first Pretty Operation. It may be a little strange for some of you the first time but you'll get used to it. On another matter." I zoned out until he got to the physical part of the operation. "Now, before we start carving a Pretty's bones we strengthen the muscles up to a certain point. Any questions so far?"

"Could a Pretty's muscles be strengthened further?" I risked and blurted out. He casually turned to me.

"Yes, but we can't have our Pretties too strong now can we?"

" I guess not," I weakly replied.

He gave me a look I knew all too well. It said `shut up, we both know what trying to do now stop making me angry. His face said it as clear as day. I'll show him.

"Alright everyone your dismissed, except you Cable, I need to talk to you," he ordered. Oh crap, I'm going to get it now. As soon as the last person left he started yelling.

"Really Cable, be realistic! These so called Specials you keep babbling on about are getting old! We both know what you were talking about a minute ago. No one is going to listen to you so stop. You're going to make me look bad in front of all the other doctors. The government does a good job keeping everyone in order so stop trying to improve what is doing fine on it's own. They don't need some imaginative intern trying to help them. So are you going to be a good little intern?"

"Yes sir," was all I could manage to say. Little did he know that at least twenty of the seniors in my dorm ran away into the wild and I didn't see anyone trying to bring them back anytime soon. They asked me to come, to runaway with them into the wild where who knows what could happen. I decided not to throw my life away, I even tried to convince them to stay but their minds were made up. I know I have to get my friends and every other Ugly back. They may think that they're better off in the wild at some rebels' camp but they can't be safe or happy. I'm going to bring all the Uglies home. Then I'd like to see what as to say.

"Now, shall we go to lunch?"

"Yes sir." Did I hear that right? He actually sounded nice.

Maybe……..

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	3. Things are changing

_I only got two reviews but here's another chapter. Thanks to the two people who did review. I really appreciate it. So here's your chapter._

Operation

(Dr. Cable's POV)

I ate my lunch where I always do: in the corner and out of everyone's way. And as always Dr. Valen was pretending that I didn't exist. I guess some things never change. I should be used to it by now but I wasn't. Oh, how I wished I could get some form of revenge. Hmmm. Maybe tomorrow. I have another half hour before my next meeting so maybe I can do some snooping. I'm pretty sure no one will notice if I'm gone.

Let's see. What sounds interesting? Examination room…no. Operation room… definitely not. Oh, here we go, Conference Room E. Only a person with as much free time as I have would know that this wasn't really a conference room. It was the ultimate search engine. A specially made computer for the hospital that can access every file ever written. Sweet. But what I would like to know is why a hospital would need anything other than a computer that can access hospital records? Oh well, I'll find out in a minute. Keys. Keys. Where did I put Valen's keys? Oh, here they are. Now why my instructor just happened to have keys to this room I will never know.

Now this is nice. A floor-to-ceiling wall screen covered more than half of the room. Now I can work with this. Now I just have to turn it on. Umm… .

"Wall screen on"

The screen lit up. Perfect. Now for the password. Lucky for me Valen also had a file with everything I would need to know about working this thing. Ok. To enter the password I have to type it in. I just need the keyboard to show up.

"Ok, room, can you pull up the keyboard on the wall screen?"

Success. I like this room. My wall screen isn't anything like this. My version is a little outdated. Now to go to work. Password: file324x325. Oh wow. There are about one thousand names. Now I just have to find Valen's name. Wait, better not do this in his file. Again, I will probably never know why Valen has every password for every file here. Lets try: search engine 3. According to Valen's directions I just need to flick my finger to pick a file.

Search engine 3 password: file2809x347390997.

"Enter password."

"Password excepted," replied the screen.

"Search runaways."

"Password please," said the screen.

I wasn't expecting this. It's going to take me a week to find the password for that in this maze of a file. I mean, what piece of technology needs two-hundred pages of passwords. Maybe this is why the hospital had their wall screen specially made.

" Dr. Cable to Conference Room A. Dr. Cable to Conference Room A."

What? I still have ten minutes before that meeting. I guess Valen wants extra time to yell at me.

"Uh, wall screen, can you log out and shut down?"

I guess that's my reply. I'll be back tomorrow.

"Lights off."

(Dr. Valen's POV)

Oh, where is she. I called for her over the intercom didn't I? I bet she is going to be late on purpose. Someone ought to teach that girl some manners. Oh, here she is.

(Dr. Cable's POV)

Crap, he's waiting for me. What did I do wrong this time?.

"Hello Cable"

"Oh, hello sir."

Am I missing something here? Where's the yelling. Where's the whole ` let me tell you what you did wrong this time speech? `

"So, where were you at lunch today? I didn't see you there today."

No shock there. He never notices me.

"Oh, well, I just took some time to review some of my notes. Is that a problem sir?"

"Of course not Cable. I'm glad to see that your starting to take this seriously," he replied

I just nodded. Something was up. Maybe he knew. No. He couldn't know. I had taken all the precautions. I made a copy of his file and I took the copy. Then I returned it exactly where I found it. I made a copy of his keys during lunch yesterday. Why would he notice that I wasn't at lunch today and not yesterday. Maybe… No. Valen had resented me since the day I walked through the door. Why would he have any reason to change his mind now? Or maybe he just has the flu. Who knows. Could be a brain tumor or something of that nature. Well, whatever is wrong with him I don't like it. I bet he's trying to trick me into confessing. Well that won't ever happen.

"All right everyone, let's begin. First, I would like to remind all of you that in less than 3 hours you will witness your first operation. But I'm sure none of you have forgotten. Now to begin with our lesson," Valen said. I usually zone out for these meetings but something Valen said sparked my interest.

"Ok, any questions? Cable, do you have any questions about today's conference so far?"

"Um, no sir," I said.

"All right then. Anyone else?"

I was thoroughly astonished. Not once had Valen talked to me in a meeting. Usually he dreaded the moment I decided to open my mouth. Now I seriously think Valen is sick. Maybe there was something going around the hospital.

"All right everyone, there has been a change in plans today. Your viewing of the operation has been moved up. Instead of all of you going to Conference Room C at four o'clock we will view the operation at four o'clock. The hospital needs the conference room so you all get to go early. You will be seeing a different patient because of the time change. In about fifteen minutes we will all meet back here . I suggest you use that time wisely. Dismissed."

Now that was weird. Was it my imagination or was Valen talking to me? He was looking me in the eye the whole time he was talking. He seemed troubled by something. He had a…a scared look in his eye? I had never seen that expression on him before. It frightened me. What happened while I was at lunch?

_So what do you think? I would really like to have more than two reviews this time. So please, if you took the time to read my new chapter tell me what you think. I want at least three reviews before I post my new chapter that I have typed up and waiting._


	4. Something is Wrong

_Thank you all who reviewed. Hope you enjoy my new chapter._

Something is Wrong

(Dr. Cable's POV)

The call came over the hospital intercom fifteen minutes later. Everyone started filing into the conference room. I tried to get there early but the door was locked and that usually never happens. I might be going crazy but I could have sworn that I heard someone crying in there. Why would Valen be crying? Unless I really missed out on something at lunch I'm pretty sure your instructors don't break down and start crying in between conferences.

"Oh, hello everyone. Please take a seat."

Even his voice sounded like he had been crying. He was looking directly at me again. That same look of fear in his eyes only this time it was more obvious.

"Ok everyone, in about five minutes one of our surgeons will come and escort us to one of the operation rooms . We will all be taken to a special area located directly above the operation. We all have to very quiet so we don't disturb the surgeons. If you have any questions please write them down and you can ask me when we return. Does everyone understand?"

Mumbled `yes sirs` could be heard around the room. Suddenly the door opened and a surgeon came in.

"Is this group ready to go Dr. Valen?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Everyone this is the surgeon that will be taking us to the viewing area. Let's go."

Everyone got up and followed the surgeon out the door. I stayed at the end of the group and so did Valen. In fact it seemed as if he was trying to stay close to me. This could not be any weirder.

The room we were brought to was very plain and had a big glass window. Outside of the window five surgeons were preparing a table of scary looking tools. A nervous chatter began around me that was immediately quieted by the surgeon that had brought us in here.

"You all need to keep quiet or you will have to do this viewing another day. Now I need to go join the other surgeons below. If we hear any noise we will notify a nurse that will escort you out. Am I understood?" he said.

Yes sirs could be heard throughout the crowd. When the surgeon was satisfied he left and went to join the other surgeons down below. Valen looked like he was somewhere else entirely. He wasn't looking out the window he was looking at his feet. Something was really bothering him. Even after all of the abuse he had put me through I felt sorry for him. What could make him so upset all of a sudden? Well, it will have to wait. I have an operation to view. Most of the other interns looked sick. It's not really that bad. I mean what did they expect? They may not be ready but I was. This was the beginning of my search.

A half hour later it was over. Everyone looked thoroughly repulsed except me and Valen. The surgeon came back shortly after and took us back to the conference room. Once the door closed everyone started talking except me. I was anxious to see another operation. To learn everything I possibly could.

"All right everyone I'm sure you don't want to be stuck in here for much longer. If you have a question stay and ask me but if you don't you are dismissed," he replied emotionless.

Everyone stood up but I was the only one that left. Poor Dr. Valen looked like he needed a break. I think he wanted everyone to leave. Well, I might as well do something worth doing. Back to the computer room.

Once I got through all the log in stuff I was back at my last screen. Surprisingly I had found the correct password in less than fifteen minutes. I typed in: file34x34553575211.

"Enter password."

"Password accepted."

There were hundreds of names lining the screen. I didn't have enough time today to hunt down all o the names of my former class mates if the city took the time to put them in the system.

"Show me the most recent runaways please."

A list of about five people showed up. I recognized one of the names. Then I suddenly knew why Valen was so upset and regretted thinking about getting revenge on him. At the top of the list was the name: Elizabeth Valen.

Oh no.

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	5. A Favor

_Here is the new chapter as promised. Enjoy!_

A favor

('s pov)

I was shocked. I just stared at the screen. I didn't even know that Valen's daughter ran away. I didn't even know he had a daughter. This is why he was acting so weird I realized. But, why was he paying extra attention to me if his daughter was missing? Did he think I had something to do with her running away? Did he think I could help find her? Wait… I bolted out the door. Hopefully all of the other interns had left already. I'm pretty sure Valen would like this talk to be private. When I reached the conference room I tried to open the door but it was locked. I pressed my ear up to the door. As I suspected I heard faint crying on the other side. I tried knocking. The crying ceased.

"Um, Dr. Valen?"

"Just a moment please," he said

It took him a good sixty seconds to come to the door, but I didn't care. I had come here to help not judge.

"Oh, Cable, what can I do for you?"

"Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Um, of course, come inside."

I didn't talk immediately. I didn't really know what to say at first. Valen didn't make any effort to start the conversation. This would be a hard thing for him to talk about, but just maybe… maybe I could help him.

"First I would like to say how sorry I am. This can't be pleasant for you," I said, making sure he knew that I knew.

"How did you find out?" was all he said.

This was the hard part for me. It's not easy to admit that you snuck into a secret computer room. Not to mention the stolen passwords and codes I had copied to use the super computer. Oh, and lets not forget the keys that I copied in my free time.

"Well, sir, I kind of….," I just couldn't spit it out.

"Cable, you won't get in trouble. Just tell me," he encouraged.

Something told me he already knew what I did. I was a little disappointed in myself. I thought I had done pretty good in being sneaky. Apparently I had messed up somewhere. Maybe when I made the copy of the keys? Only one way to find out.

"Ok, I know it was wrong and could get me fired, but I had to do it. No one would help me so I had to find another way to get information. I made a copy of your keys to Conference Room E. Then I made a copy off all the passwords I would need. Today when I went on I searched for runaways. There wasn't a lot of names but still do much to look through so I searched most resent runaways. She was the first one on the list," I said waiting to be yelled at .

I waited for the fireworks but he said nothing. I was staring at the floor so I looked up to see if Valen was mad.

He was crying. Pour guy. This was really hard for him. He looked back at me then looked away. Did he think I would laugh at him? I had to say something to break the silence.

"I know this is hard . I'm sorry."

He looked me straight in the eye. He knew I understood.

"No Cable, I'm sorry."

"Dr. Valen there's no reason for you to be sorry. You lost someone you care about. I know how hard it is for you to do this. I just thought you night like some company. Trust me, I understand what it's like for you right now."

"That's not my point Cable. I'm sorry about the way I treated you. I know that my attitude towards you was unacceptable and I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I probably got you laughed at. My ideas are less than reasonable and I shouldn't have embarrassed you."

He was quiet. Maybe he really regretted treating me the way he did. It bugged me but I felt sorry for him. My ideas were wacky but that doesn't mean I regretted thinking them.

"Cable, I need your help."

Now it was my turn for silence. Why did he want my help? I knew what he was thinking about but I had to confirm my suspicions first.

"How can I help?"

"I'm very sorry for making fun of you and your ideas Cable. I should have helped you, not make you sneak around to get the information you needed. Your idea may be the greatest thing that I've heard of in ages. No doctor, or anyone for that matter, has had a better idea. I didn't accept you and your specials because I didn't believe you could do it. Didn't believe in you. But I need your help. Specials must become a reality . It may be the only way to bring her back."

I was stunned. I was expecting something like `you have to help me bring her back` or ` I should have listened to you`. But this, this was a plea for help. We both knew what can happen out there. It's not safe. Being in the wild was serious business. A city-bred teen would not do well. There wasn't a hole in the wall to give you what you wanted. No wardens to protect you. It was you against the world.

"I'll make you a promise. I will so everything in my power to help get your daughter back and every other Ugly that has runaway," I said, and I meant it.

"And I will make you a promise in return. I will do everything in my power to help you," he said.

I could tell he meant it. I wouldn't give up. I would work to keep my promise but I couldn't do this alone. I would need his help. I would need all the help I could get, but no one could know about this. Not yet.

"This has to remain a secret. If word gets out we could have trouble," I warned

"Agreed. This will be between you and me."

"Now what?" I asked.

"Let's go to that conference room. Do I need my keys or do you have your copy of mine?" he asked politely.

"Haha. Actually I think it's still unlocked. I kind of came straight here after I saw what came up. I didn't think about locking up at the time."

"Then I suggest we hurry before some curious doctor accidentally sees my wall-screen."

"It's yours?" I was astonished. No wonder he had all the codes and everything.

"You could say that," he said smugly.

_So? What do you guys think? I really like this chapter. It's starting off the story. There will be many chapters to come readers, but If you want to read them you need to review. Seriously, what do I have to do to make you people review? I still didn't get the five reviews i wanted, but i'm being nice and i gave you all this chapter. I won't be so nice anymore if you readers don't reveiw!_


	6. Planning

_Ok readers (sadly there are only a few of you at the moment.) I've decided to give up on the whole`i'll post a new chapter when i get five reviews. That's not working out so well. So, despite my lack of reviews here is your next chater._

Planning

('s POV)

Me and valen spent the rest of the day in the wall-screen room. He showed me the basics of how to work his over sized wall-screen. He also explained that the wall screen was his idea to have. He talked to some people and got it made in secret especially for the hospital. Only about five people, including me, knew about it. Valen walked me through the steps to turn the thing on properly. Apperantly it's more complicated than telling it to turn on.

"Don't worry Cable, it takes practice to get it perfect," he had said after my tenth try,"It's just takes a while to remember all the log-in codes, but you'll get it eventually."

I was getting more frustrated with each time I screwed something up. I mean come on. Who wouldn't be mad at an over-sized computer that kept freezing up because you pressed the wrong button. When i started trying to punch the thing to death, which only hurt my hand really bad, Valen suggested we take a break. Good. One more minute with this complicated piece of wall-screen and I was going to scream.

"Come on Cable. Let's go to my office and you can take a break."

"It's about time," I mutered.

I had anly been in Valen's office a few times and it never ceased to amaze me. It had a perfect view of New Pretty Town. The fireworks looked amazing! Pretties might be a little on the lazy side but they sure know how to light up the night.

"You can sit anywhere you'd like," he said.

"Ok. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get the awesome office?"

"Now there's a good question. You can say that I was one of the lucky ones. I started working here when the doctor that had this office retired. Usually they don't let new doctors have offices like this but it was the only one available."

"Wow, that is lucky. You can see New Pretty Town perfectly form here," I said while staring.

"Yes. It is quite a view."

We both just stared out the window for a while, unaware of the work that we had to do. Dr. Valen finally broke the silence.

"Well, I think we should start on those plans, don't you?"

"Ok. So, where do we start?" I really had no idea how to start the plans.

"Well, you could explain to me what you want Specials to be able to do, and what you want them to look like," he said.

"All right. Well, they should be really strong. Some run-aways might not want to come home so the Specials need to be able to catch them. They should have good refelxes and be really fast. Um...that's all that I've really thought of so far."

"It's a good start. We can work on appearances another time. The Specials are going to need there own headquarters. They can't just be roaming around all the time. We'll need to find the right location first."

"It's going to need to be hidden and well gaurded. Some people might get curious, or someone from the Rebel's Camp might try to destroy it."

"Ok. We need to make a building plan and get the first few details of Specials made."

"I kind of have an idea of what they should look like. They shouldn't be like ordinary Pretties. They need to be built for speed and hunting but still look some-what like a modern Pretty."

"All right, how about their senses?"

"They should all be advanced. Like, they should be extra sensitive to touch. They should be able to hear a few yards away. They're going to need to be able to communicate with eachother without anyone else hearing them."

"We could put in like, an antenna maybe?"

"Like in their brain?" I wondered.

"I think that's the only way to do it. We could wire up their brains. We would need ot put a chip in their jaw to pick up the sound of their voice and then some sort of antenna to broadcast it to other Specials."

"They should have private networks so they can talk to who they want to."

"Agreed. All of them talking at once would get confusing. Each Special will need their own network."

"So what your saying is that they're all going to be wired."

"More than that Cable. They'll have ot have eye-screens with every piece of data that's available. They need extra sensitive cells placed everywhere in their body and they need better than 20/20 vision."

"This is going to take a lot of work," I thought sadly. Who knows how long Valen's daughter has before something happens to her.

"I know it seems that way."

We both knew why this had to be done fast. There was just so much to work out. All the little things. We need more help. We need the smartest people in this city. This is just too much work that needs to happen in too little time. A lot of people need to working on the project if we were ever going to get close to done, but who could help. Who would help? People would think we've gone crazy. At least the people we needed would. No genious would help us. They would need to know the urgency of the situation to understand why it's so important. We just need them to listen to what we have to say.

"Dr. Valen, we're going to need major help with this."

"I agree. we'll need al the brain power we can get."

"But who would agree to help us? Any of the geniuses we need would call us lunatics," I said glunly.

"I think I know how we can find some people."

"How?" I asked

"We need to go back to the wall-screen."

"Ugh. Not that again," I groaned, but i was curious to know what he had in mind.

"Don't worry, I'll do all the hard stuff."

"All right, but what are you planning to look for?"

"I'm going to look up a few old friends."

_So there it is. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update as much as I can. Will you please review?!? I'd really appreciate it if you did._


	7. Searching

_Well, here is another chapter of my hopefully amazing story. I would know if it's amazing or a disaster if people reviewed and told me. That would be really awesome! I got a lot of amazing reviews for the last chapter and I hope the same for this chapter. Well, enough of this, enjoy!_

Searching

(Dr. Cable's POV)

"What do you mean by `a few old friends?"

"Just some people I met when I was training to become a doctor," he said like it should be obvious.

"Oh, OK," I said, unsure.

I watched as Valen did a few complicated things on the wall-screen. He did the setup then went into more complicated procedures. I tried to keep up the best I could but I eventually stopped trying.

The odds seemed slim that I would ever be able to work the thing so flawlessly. It looked like Valen had found what he was looking for. There was a profile picture and a description on the screen.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's my old teacher, Ava Reid, or Dr. Reid," he said.

"You think she would help us?" I asked unsure.

"I'm almost sure of it. She always had an open mind when dealing with her student's ideas. When she starts on a project she won't stop until it meets her standards. She's also a very intelligent person. I think she would be a big help to us."

"That's great, we just need to convince her to help us," I advised.

"Oh, I'll take care of that," he said while grinning.

"OK. How many more people do you think we need?"

"I don't know Cable, but we need a lot. I think I know about three more people that would help, and two more that would need a lot of convincing," he said.

"That's great. The convincing part shouldn't be that hard, but they can't tell anyone else about this."

"I agree. I'm sure they can keep quite if we ask correctly."

"All right. Should we call Ava now or wait until we look everyone up?"

"Write down her number and address and we'll call when we have everyone."

I grabbed a pen and wrote down her information. My idea was starting to take form, but there was still too much work to be done. We didn't even know if Elizabeth was still alive or not. For Valen's sake, I hope she is or this would have been for nothing.

"Done, who's next?" I asked.

"I already have his profile pulled up. His name is Shane Maddock. He's a very talented brain surgeon. You saw him when you saw that pretty operation a few days ago."

"He can help with the Specials' brain wiring. But, they didn't do anything to that pretty's brain. I thought the operation was just physical, or that's what my teachers told me," I said suspiciously.

"Oh, well, your right. Dr. Maddock was just there in-case they needed him, but he is a very good brain surgeon. I don't think it will take much convincing to get him on our side. We can talk to him as soon as we're done in here," he explained quickly and nervously.

"There's something that your not telling me. I'm helping you get your daughter back, but if you're lying to me then it's not going to happen. I need to know things like this."

"You don't understand Cable. Very few people know about this. It would be very, very bad if the public found about this. I'm lucky to even know about it. I will deal with the challenges that this detail poses for us. You don't need to know about it," he said.

"Aren't I being honest to you? Aren't I doing my very best to make my specials real so they can save your daughter? It's a little disappointing to know that , even though I'm trusting you to help me with my creation, you can't trust me," I stated disappointingly.

"Cable, your making a too big of a deal out of this. It's not something you need to know. Like I said, I will take care of it. You don't need to be involved with it," he said sternly.

"You're right. I don't need to be involved, with any of this," I said softly.

"I'm glad you see it my way. Now, the next person we need to...where are you going?"

"I told you I didn't need to be involved with any of this. I don't want to be used by someone who thinks that they're so much more important than me. Someone who is perfectly capable of handling everything on their should I stand in the way of such an important person?" I said glumly.

"Don't be so melodramatic Cable. Come back over here and we'll look up the next doctor," he said sternly.

"No. I don't have to listen to anything you say. Sure, you may be my instructor and all but that doesn't mean I have to help you if you're going to treat me like this. I'll make my Specials with people that want to help me and not just themselves. You can try to make them in your image but I will not help you or anyone that you convince to help you," I said as I headed towards the door.

"Wait, Cable! Can't we work this out? You know that's not what I meant when I said I would handle it. I can't do this without you and you know that. I'm sorry that I said what I said. Just, please." he begged

"I'll help you if you promise to be honest. You have to trust me. Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing. You won't be able to recreate my image," I said while pausing by the door.

"Fine. I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just please don't give up on Specials. Elizabeth needs them."

"All you have to do is explain to me exactly what you do to a pretty's mind and why it's so secretive."

"I guess that shouldn't be too hard. Come take a seat."

He pulled up a chair and I sat down. I had a feeling this would take a while.

_Well, what do you think readers? Suspenseful right? I know it was kind of short but that's just how it is. The next chapter should be longer. Keep in mind, reviews make me type faster! :)_


	8. The Secret

_Hello readers, I'm sorry for not posting sooner but I've been busy with school. I've had a lot of end of the school year things to finish up but I'm back to writing now. So enjoy!_

The secret

(Dr. Cable's POV)

"I guess I should start at the beginning. You know about the Rusties, right?" Valen asked.

"Sure. This disease that infected oil killed them all in the Rusty Panic."

"It's a little more complicated than that, but that's basically what happened. The Rusties had no respect for nature. They clear-cut rain forests, which killed a lot of wild life as well. For some reason that is unknown to me, they went to war with each other. Lots of lives were lost for no apparent reason back then. Their ground cars and giant factories polluted the air and the Earth. They used electricity instead of the solar power that we use today. But, their biggest mistake was their oil. They used it for everything. They had these big wells and drills that they used to dig it up out of the Earth with. Eventually, this virus that made oil burst into flames got released. That's what killed them all in the end."

"But how is this some big secret? They teach this in Ugly School." I said.

"This is just a little information so you know why what we have in use is so important."

"OK, so what is the big secret?"

"The reason the Rusties were so cruel to nature was because they weren't properly controlled. Now we have a way to prevent that type of behavior from ruining our Earth again. We need surgeons like Dr. Maddock because after every operation we do we implant these very small lesions that take away a person's need for violence. It also takes away the need to destroy the environment."

I couldn't say anything at first. How could they do this to people? I mean, sure, it's better for the Earth and everything, but you just can't control someone like that. We're people, not pets.

"What do those things do to people?" I asked.

"Well, they make it easier for everyone to live in peace. Haven't you ever noticed how there never seems to be anything violence in New Pretty Town but all the Uglies fight and tease each other? But there is one side affect, Pretties aren't good in emergencies. Their minds work slower than a person's brain without the lesions would. They also make you forget things like running away. Say an ugly ran away but then came back. All their memories from running away would become fuzzier and unclear. It makes them forget why they ran away and makes it harder and more unlikely for them to do it again."

"So you're basically erasing part of their mind," I said angrily.

"No Cable. The memories are still there but they're covered up. We're not harming anyone Cable, we're helping them."

"You really think this is best, don't you? The pretties don't even know what your doing to them. Do you think they would want it like that, to have their minds messed with?" I said.

"Cable, your not seeing the big picture. This is one of the reasons I didn't want to tell you. Your making too big of a deal out of this. Besides, you don't even have to worry about the lesions. You don't have them."

"What do you mean I don't have them?" I asked.

"Like I said, pretties aren't good in emergencies. They can't think quickly enough to deal with the challenges of being a doctor. You had your lesions removed on the first day you worked here," he said like I should already know this.

"How did they just take them out? I didn't have any surgery or anything that day."

"It doesn't require any surgery Cable. There is a special pill that destroys them in a matter of hours. "

"I didn't take a pill either Valen," I said, getting angrier.

"Of course you did, you just didn't notice. The person who takes care of the lesions in this hospital put it in your lunch on your first day," he said.

"That's horrible! You can't treat people like science experiments. You can't play with our minds like that. It's just not right!" I yelled.

"Just calm down Cable. We're not playing with their minds we're just trying to protect what the Rusties destroyed so many years ago. Just think about it before you get angry"

I was angry, and I didn't want to calm down. It was all a scam. We were all being lied to. Controlled by other people. That's a lot of power for one person to have. A lot of control...

"Who exactly is in charge of all of this?" I asked.

"I thought you would have figured that out by now. My great-great grandfather came up with this, so naturally, I am," he said proudly.

"How does it feel to have all that power? To be able to do whatever you want to everyone else?"I asked.

"It's wonderful Cable. You wouldn't believe how great it feels to have this much control."

"Specials are going to have to know about this, and they can't have these lesions."

"I agree, but we need to make them understand why it's so important or they're not going to be too happy. If they're not going to have the lesions then we need another way to keep them under control."

"Your exactly right. They need a special lesion, just for them," I said evilly.

_Well? How was it? This is where Dr. Cable starts to get her evil side. Many more chapters will be coming after this, but remember, reviews make me type faster._


	9. New Intern

_ Hello readers, I hope you enjoy my new chapter!_

New Intern

( Dr. Cable's point of view)

Dr. Valen and I decided that it was to time to head home. It was getting late and I was tired. I watched as Valen shut down the wall-screen and turned out the lights.

"We can continue searching for people tomorrow afternoon. Is that all right with you?" Valen said.

"Sure," I replied. I was just too tired to give any more of an answer than that. He said nothing more as we walked down the empty hallway. Usually there were a few doctors or nurses walking around but tonight it was quiet. Valen and I parted at the door. "Well, good-night Cable." I just waved back at him. I started my walk home. The cool night air would have been calming but , like always, the other pretties ruined it. The loudest and craziest parties happen at night. Tonight they were having a party on the street in front of my building. I tried to sneak through unnoticed but that rarely happens. Someone grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey, what's the rush?" I tried to get away but this guy had a firm grip on my shoulder. He spun me around so he could look me in the eye.

"Would you like to dance?" He looked strangely serious, unlike the other drunken idiots around us. He took his hand of my shoulder so I muttered a no and took off. He shouted for me to wait but I didn't stop until I got to my room. Ugh. This isn't how a normal pretty should react. I guess that just further proves that I'm not normal. I'll never make any friends if I don't stop trying to hide from the whole city. Oh well. I'll figure it out eventually. I changed into my pajamas then headed off to sleep.

My walk to work this morning was silent. All of the late night parties had died down and everyone had gone to sleep. I was greeted by the receptionist when I walked through the hospital door. I said hi back to her then went to put my jacket in my locker. It was still early so I didn't see a lot of people, but when I went to get my coffee I saw Dr. Valen talking to someone. At first I ignored them, until Valen called me over.

"Good morning Cable. I would like you to meet Dameon. He'll be working as a new intern here." I turned to Dameon to introduce myself but I hesitated. He was that guy that stopped me at the party. What are the odds?

"Oh, hi. I'm Cable. It's nice to meet you Dameon."

"It's nice to meet you too," he said. I realized that he's actually a pretty handsome guy.

"Cable, can you do me a favor and show Dameon around? I have a few things I need to take care of," Valen said.

"Sure," I replied

"Thanks Cable. Well, I guess I'll see you two later." After saying that he left the room. The way he said `see you two later` bugged me but I don't know why. For a minute neither of us said anything and it was getting more than a little awkward.

"Well, I uh, guess I'll show you around. Come on."

"All right," he replied. We both walked out the door. At first I was the only one who did the talking. I showed him a few conference rooms and introduced him to a few doctors and nurses that we passed in the hall. I was beginning to think that he didn't remember me. That would have been nice, had it been true. He spoke up when we got back to the lounge.

"So, are you going to tell me why you wouldn't dance with me?" He sounded truly curious.

"I didn't have time and I don't dance." I should have just ignored him but, for some reason, I felt like I had to answer him.

"I don't think I've ever met a pretty who said she couldn't dance." I suspected him to say something mean and joking but he didn't. It sounded like he was just stating a fact and not trying to make fun of me.

"Well now you have," I muttered.

"Have you ever tried to dance?"

"No," was all I said.

"Then do you even go to parties?" He sounded more shocked than anything.

"No." I was going to say more but I didn't want to be rude. At first he didn't say anything else. He was probably thinking that I was a freak or something even worse, but why did I care? I've never cared about what people think of me, but for some reason I didn't want Dameon to think of me as a freak. He still wasn't saying anything and I was starting to worry. Then, finally, he said something.

"That's not something you hear every day. If you don't go to parties then what do you do all day?" Again, he didn't sound mean or anything, he really seemed curious.

"I work here during the day and then I go home at night." He was quiet for another minute.

"You know, there's something different about you. Your unique."

"I'm not unique, I'm a freak," I muttered. He started to say something but Valen walked in.

"There you two are. Dameon, don't you need to be in Conference Room A?"

"Oh, yes. I'd better head over there now." With that said he left the room.

"So, are you two getting along?" Valen asked.

"Yup."

"That's great. Are you ready to do some more research?"

"Yup"

"Then let's go." He lead me out the door and down the hall. When we got to the wall- screen room I waited for Valen to start everything up. We have so much to do and not enough time. We need help and we need it now. It's going to take forever to convince these people that we aren't crazy, and then more time to get them agree to help us. Then we need them to swear not to tell anyone and that's only the start. We need to actually create these specials and then we need people that we can turn into specials...

"Cable, are you all right?" Valen's worried voice brought me back to reality.

"Oh, uh yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking." Valen didn't look convinced but he let it go and gestured to the screen.

"OK then. Here's Lizza Riding's profile. She knows everything there is to know about electronics. I think she could be a big help. Don't you?" When I didn't answer Valen looked at me again. "Cable? Are you sure your all right?" After another minute I found my voice.

"Yes,I'm fine. I told you , I'm thinking." I didn't mean to sound angry and irritated but I did.

"Then what are you thinking about?" Valen didn't sound mad he sounded worried.

"At this rate it's going to take at least a month before we actually meet any of these people. Let alone convince them to help us create a special. Then we actually have to start drawing out plans and models and who knows what else. After that we need people who will let us turn them into specials then if it works we'll need a whole army of people that we can turn special. All while keeping it secret. And where are the specials going to live? They'll need their own headquarters and equipment and hover cars and a lot more stuff that we don't have. We're going to need a lot more time and a lot more help and a lot more everything if we are ever going to get this done. Oh, and I forgot to mention that if we're going to get your daughter back here and turned pretty we'll have to do it before she turns twenty which leaves us barely four years to make specials and actually find the camp she's at."

By this time I was starting to loose it. I was overwhelmed and just starting to realize that this will be nearly impossible. I didn't even realize that I was crying until Valen said that I was. He lead me toward the chairs and table in the corner, trying to comfort me. But he wasn't looking too good either. I think he was, just like me, realizing how hard this really is going to be. He didn't tell me that it was going to be easy or that everything was going to be OK. None of that crap. Instead he just sat by me and waited until I calmed down and got a hold of myself. I don't know how long we just sat there but I knew it was late and we needed to get some work done.

"I think I'm OK now." My voice sounded horrible.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. What time is it?" Valen glanced at the wall-screen.

"It's six-thirty."

"We need to finish looking up the people you know. Or at least some of them."

"All right then." He helped me up and we walked over to the wall-screen. Lizza Riding's profile was still up. I grabbed a pen and wrote down her contact information.

"Who's next?" I asked.

For the next three and a half hours all we did was look up person after person. We made a plan to call them all tomorrow and have them all meet us is at a place that Valen said would be safe for us to talk to them. When I say safe I mean somewhere remote where the city won't hear what we're talking about. We ended up with fifteen names which was actually pretty good. I wanted to keep working but Valen said I needed sleep or I would be useless. I didn't argue because I was tired. I watched Valen shut down the wall-screen and then we left. Valen went to his office and I went to my locker. When I got to the lounge I saw Dameon asleep in a chair with his feet propped up on the table. How odd. I knew I couldn't just leave him here so I shook him awake.

"What are you doing here so late?" I asked.

"Well, what are you doing here so late?"

"Ha,ha. I had some stuff to do,but now I'm going home. Like you should be." I started to head for the door.

"Wait a sec. I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier."

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

"Nope. You where wrong about some of the things you said and I wanted to set you straight."

"Well, you can stay here all night and talk but I'm going home." I was out the door before he could say another word. He caught up to me when I got to the waiting room.

"Then I'll talk on the way."

"What do you mean?" All I wanted was to go to bed.

"I mean I'm going to walk you home."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. Besides, I'd be walking with you anyway. My building is right next to yours."

"Fine." I started walking and he followed. For a while we just walked. We were halfway to my building when spoke.

"You know, your not a freak. Just because you don't go to parties, that doesn't make you a freak," he said softly.

"You don't have to pretend to be nice to me. I know who I am." Dameon just sighed. We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we reached the door to my building I said good-night and was about to go in when he grabbed my arm.

"You're not a freak. You're special," he whispered. Then I watched as he walked up the street and into his building.

_ So what do you guys think of Dameon? The story needed more drama don't you think? Please review!_


	10. Phone calls

_I would like to thank all of the awesome readers that reviewed my story. Glad you like it! This chapter took me a while since it was longer but I think it was worth it. Hope you like it!_

First Impression

(Dr. Cable's point of view)

Today I'm nervous. Very nervous. Valen and I have to call the fifteen people we looked up and try to get them to meet us on Saturday which is the day after tomorrow. I'm just hoping that they don't think we're crazy people or anything like that. I still need to come up with something to say to them. This is too important to just wing it. If we say just the right thing then we have a shot. If we explain to them the situation that we're in they might show us some sympathy. They all know what its like to lose someone they care about. Valen and I made sure that everyone we picked had lost someone they care about because they ran away. They'll know what's it's like.

"Hey Cable." I turned to see Dameon leaning against the wall outside my building. Somehow I knew he would be waiting for me, and it made me very happy so see him. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes I did. I'm running a little late so I need to get going." I started walking and he followed.

"I'll walk you there." I smiled and nodded. Dameon hesitantly took my hand. I liked that. I glanced at Dameon and noticed that he looked really nervous. Like he was thinking hard about something. I wish I knew what was troubling him. Maybe I could help. It seemed like barely any time had passed when we reached the hospital. He didn't let go of my hand until we got to the lounge, but I wanted him to hold onto it longer. That surprised me a little. I was still lost in thought when Valen stepped in along with Dr. Maddock. Valen said hello to Dameon then he and Dr. Maddock walked up to me.

"Cable, Dr. Maddock and I need to talk to you in private," Valen said.

"All right," I said, a little confused about why Dr. Maddock was here.

"Lets go to my office then." He started walking toward the door and I followed. I saw Dameon's confused expression and shrugged my shoulders at him. Then the three of us went up one floor and into Valen's office. We all took a seat.

"So," I said," what's this all about?" Valen looked very happy. That doesn't happen often so I knew it was at least something good for a change.

"Dr. Maddock has agreed to help us with our project. He has also agreed to help us call the others today and on Saturday," Valen said. No wonder he looked so happy. I looked at Dr. Maddock with a big grin on my face.

"Really?"

"Yes. A long time ago my son ran away and I would have done anything to get him back. Now there's a chance to save some of the other kids that ran away and I'm going to everything in my power to help you and Valen," said.

"And Dr. Maddock knows two other people on our list.,"Valen said.

"Yes, my sister Ever and her friend Ramona. Their best friend ran away two weeks before her sixteenth birthday, and I know they'll help you. Ever works in another part of this building and she'll know where to find Ramona." I was stunned, but most of all, I was very happy. According to Valen, Ever also knew about the brain lesions. I was starting to think this would work.

"That's amazing. Do you think Ever can help us on Saturday too?" I asked Dr. Maddock.

"I think she will. I have a few things I need to do so I'll get a hold of her some time this afternoon. Should I explain everything to her or would you two rather do it?" He asked the question to me and Valen. I looked at Valen and shrugged.

"How about Cable and I meet you and Ever back here around four? Then we can all explain the situation to her," Valen said.

"All right with me," said Dr. Maddock."Well, I need to get going so I'll see you at four." After that he left. Neither me or Valen said anything. I think he was letting it all sink in like I was. Then I got to thinking about where we were going to bring all the other people. She spot Valen had explained to me was just outside city limits. Untouched is the word he had used. Untouched means no city grid to fly on. How where we supposed to get there? Walk? Just another obstacle in our way. And, of course, there wouldn't be a city grid in the wild.

"Um, Valen? How are we supposed to get to the meeting place on Saturday?" He looked confused by my question.

"With a hover-car."

"But you said we were going to a place that was untouched by the city. There won't be a grid there."

"I know that. The grid stops at the top of a big hill. That's where we'll have the meeting. At the bottom of the hill is a big open space. I was thinking, if there's enough space and if you approve, we could put headquarters there," Valen said.

"Well, the sooner we find a location the better. After we get our first special it'll need to be ready."

"I know, and it's going to take a while to build. It's going to need rooms for the specials to stay and operating rooms and a lot more"

"It'll need a grid before we can do anything. How many building designers did we have?"

"Three if they all agree to help us. I believe that Ramona is one of the three."

"We'll need more. Did we happen to have any people who can build a hover-car or hover-board?" I asked.

"I don't think so, why?"

"We need to find someone, because we need special hover-cars that can fly without a grid."

"I agree, but I think we should wait to find more people until after we meet with the others on Saturday. We need more people on our side."

"Okay, that makes sense," I said." But, wait. Will we even be able to get the supplies for any of this? I don't think the city is going to let us request all of the stuff for headquarters without asking questions."

"If I'm right, then the builders can get whatever we need. They're licensed professionals so it's normal for them to ask for supplies."

"Well, that covers one of our many problems," I said.

"Yes. Well, we both have places we need to be so I'll see you at four." We both got up and Valen held the door for me. I didn't actually have to be anywhere at the moment so I went back to the lounge to do some thinking. No one was there so it was nice and quite. I sat down and laid my head on a table. I was still pretty tired, but I really didn't have time for a nap.I came here to think and that's what I'm gonna do. Now, my speech on Saturday. Valen had said that I should be the one to explain everything since this was my creation, great idea Valen. I couldn't exactly start off with ` Hi, my name is Cable. I've asked you all here today so you can help me create super-enhanced people called specials that are going to rescue runaways.`Yeah, that will work out great. What I really needed to do was make them understand. They all had people in their lives runaway so they'll understand, right? Maybe I could start out by asking if they knew any runaways, and they would all say yes,then I could ask if they would have helped get that person back... I got up and grabbed a pen and paper. I knew what I was going to say. I started writing. It was like I couldn't get the words down fast enough. This would work. I could feel it.

I looked up at the clock. It was already 12:30. I had been writing and editing for over two hours. I reread my speech. It made me think about Ellena. Ellena and I were practically sisters. We couldn't have been better friends if we were sisters. I missed her. I missed her a lot. Ellena ran away with her boyfriend two weeks before she turned sixteen. I didn't blame her for leaving, I blamed her boyfriend. He wanted to leave so he convinced Ellena to come with him. I hated him for taking my best friend away from me. She wanted me to come and I almost did. The night she left I begged and begged for her to stay and she begged and begged for me to come. Her boyfriend stepped in and said` Come on Ellena, we don't need her.` And that was that. He took her away. That was the night I decided I would try to make specials real. I had already been trying to decide whether or not I should try to make them. When he took Ellena away I knew I had to try. I didn't really have any other friends so I just stayed in my dorm feeling miserable until I turned sixteen. I scooted my paper to the side and laid my head back on the table. It felt like I was mourning her loss all over again. I know she might be alive but, she could be dead. I knew I was crying and I didn't try to stop. I always cry when I think about Ellena. That's just how it is. I heard the door open so I sat up and wiped my face.

"Cable? What's wrong?" I heard Dameon say. He came and sat by me. I was already feeling better. "What's wrong?" He asked me again. I've haven't told anyone about Ellena but I knew I could trust Dameon.

"I was just thinking about my friend that ran away before she turned sixteen. I really miss her." I sounded horrible. Dameon was quite for a moment then he scooted his chair closer to mine and put his arm around me. I leaned closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I know what your going through. My brother ran away too. We were pretty close." The sadness in Dameon's voice almost made me start crying again. I wanted to comfort him, tell him that his brother was probably fine. For a second I even considered telling him about specials ,but there was a lot of reasons why I couldn't.

"We were pretty much sisters. She was the only real family I had."

"What about your parents?"

"They were happy to get rid of me when I moved into the ugly dorm. I haven't seen them since."

"That's horrible! How could they abandon you like that?"

"I don't know," I said. Dameon hugged me closer. I felt safe in his arms. I could have sat there all day with him, but sadly, we both had work we needed to do. We stood up and were about to head for the door when Dameon stopped me.

"So, I was thinking...if your free Saturday, maybe we can hang out or something?" Why? Why Saturday? I really, really wanted to say yes, but Saturday?

"I'm so sorry. I _really_ want to say yes but I'm busy Saturday." The moment that was out his hopeful expression faded.

"Oh, that's okay. Maybe another time." He started to walk away and I wouldn't have that. I grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Wait. I really do want to say yes but I have a... _special_ meeting on Saturday that I can't miss, and I have no idea when it'll be over." I didn't know what else I could say to explain this to him, but he did look a little happier now that he knew what was keeping me busy.

"Oh, okay, but what meeting?"

"I'm really not supposed to say anything about it yet. Most of the people going to the meeting don't even know what it's about."

"So, do you know what it's about?"

"Yes, and that's one of the reasons I have to be there."

"That's fine, I understand." He sounded like he really did understand, not as sad anymore.

"I'd really like to get together another time, but I don't know when I'll be able to. After this meeting my schedule is going to get a little crazy." Dameon grabbed a piece of paper off the table, wrote on it, then handed it to me.

"Whenever your free, just call." This time I smiled. I stuck his number in my pocket.

"I will." We both looked at the clock. It was already one. " I need to get going." I grabbed my speech.

"So do I." Dameon held the door for me. After that, the day couldn't go by fast enough. It seemed like the clock was going slower than usual just to irritate me. I had work to keep me busy but I still glanced at the clock every few minutes. My day continued like that until, finally, it was four o'clock. I practically ran to Valen's office. I knocked on the door.

"Come in," I heard Valen say. I opened the door and stepped inside. Good. The others weren't here yet. "Hello, Cable. Have a seat. and Ever should be here shortly."

"Good. I finally figured out what I'm going to say on Saturday." I set my paper on his desk. He picked it up and started reading it. He kept his face expressionless while he read it but when he set it back down he started to smile.

"It's perfect. They'll listen. But, I'm just curious, has anyone close to you runaway? You know exactly what it's like,what someone would go through." I could feel the tears coming. I couldn't talk about this again today. Not because I had work to do, but because I just couldn't. I closed my eyes and tried to get a hold of my emotions.

"I'd rather not talk about it." My voice broke in two places. Valen didn't get a chance to comment because Dr. Maddock and Ever walked in. I opened my eyes. Just by looking at Ever you could tell that she was smart. She's the kind of person that gets things done. I hadn't noticed that she was staring at me too. She looked at me with sad eyes. I didn't understand why, though. we kept staring at each other until Dr. Maddock spoke.

"Ever, this is Cable. She and Valen would like to talk to you."

"It's very nice to meet you Cable," she said. She took a seat. "Now, why am I here?"

"Has Maddock told you anything about why you're here?" Valen said.

"All he said is that it had to do with runaways. That was enough to get me here." Valen was thinking. Probably trying to figure how how to start off this conversation. I decided to help him out.

"Ever, what's the name of your friend that ran away?"

"Her name was Rane." Ever looked like I had felt a few moments ago.

"Why do you say her name was Rane instead of her name is Rane?" She was quite for a minute.

"She's not here anymore. For all I know she could be dead already." I knew how she felt, but she didn't know that. I would have had to say something eventually.

"I know how you feel. Everyone in this room does. That's why we're here. Before I say anything else I need you to promise not to tell anyone about this. If what we're trying to do gets out it won't be very good for any of us." My voice was very serious now.

"I promise not to tell anyone about this." She was serious now, too. It was time to get down to business.

"Good. We think there may be a way to bring the runaways back, but we need help. A lot of help. From people who don't have the lesions and who are good at what they do. And people who know what it's like." She didn't speak at first, but that was expected.

"How do we bring them back, and how can I help?"

"There's no easy way to explain this. You know that the pretty operation was created to make us all equals. It was the solution to a problem. Now we have another problem. Before a person gets their operation they might have a chance in the wild. After the operation, it's impossible. So we need people that are designed and trained to go out there and find the 'll be called specials. That's the only thing we are sure of right now. But to make specials a reality we'll need help from the best of the best. That's one of the reasons your here." I stopped to her that sink in. Ever didn't look horrified or anything like that. She looked determined.

"I'll do everything I can do to help you. Anything." I knew she meant it. I offered my hand to her and she shook it. I glanced at Valen. He looked proud. I smiled.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure. Do you have any more people helping you right now?" she asked me.

"That's what we're working on. So far, you and Dr. Maddock are the only ones. We have a list of names and numbers of other people that we're going to try to contact. Valen and I want to call them tonight and have them meet us Saturday, then we'll take them somewhere safe to talk to them."

"Where are you taking them?" I looked at Valen.

"There's a spot untouched by the city that will be perfect," Valen said.

"We wanted to wait we knew you would help us before we made any call. There are some people on out list that you might know."

"Like who?"

"Do you think you could convince Ramona to help us?" Ever didn't hesitate with her answer.

"Yes. It shouldn't take much to get her on our side."

"Good. Valen, do you the list in here?" He opened a door in his desk and pulled it out. Ever took it from him and flipped through it.

"I don't know anyone else but Ramona should know the two other building designers, Aiden and Deveron."

"That's great! Would you mind calling her for us?" I asked.

"No, not at all. I can call Ramona right now. Where should I tell her to meet us?"

"In front of the hospital at noon this Saturday."

"Okay." She picked up the phone on Valen's desk and started dialing.

"Is Ramona available...okay...Hi Ramona, it's Ever...I'm doing fine. I actually have a favor to ask. Do you remember when Rane ran away?...I know, I miss her too. And do you remember how a lot of other kids ran away too?... This has to do with all of the runaways. I can't tell you much more right now so I need you to trust me on this...Yes, there's a lot of people involved...Can you meet me this Saturday at noon in front of the hospital?... Thank you Ramona, and do you think you could bring Aiden and Deveron with you?...Yes... Thank you again Ramona. We'll explain all of this on Saturday ... Yes ... Okay, I'll see you Saturday." Ever hung up the phone.

"She'll be there and she'll have Aiden and Deveron with her."

"That's great! Can you stay and help us call the others?" I asked Ever.

"Of course, but I wouldn't really know what to say to them."

"Cable, I think you should make the calls. You know what you want to say to them and how to make them listen," Valen spoke up.

"Um... all right, I guess, but I think you should call Ava, your old teacher, since she knows you already."

"I can do that." Valen picked up the phone and dialed Ava's number. Ever, Maddock, and I listened to Valen explain things to Ava. He hing up the phone. "She'll be there."

"Good. I'll call the other nine." I hesitated, needing a minute to think it through. Ever, Maddock, and Valen noticed.

" Cable, would you like us to step out while you make the calls?" Valen suggested.

"Yeah." The three of them left and shut the door. It's not that I was nervous or anything I just wanted to do this by myself. It'll be easier if I just focus on who I'm talking to and not them. I picked up the list and looked at the next person. Lizza Riding. She works with electronics. I started dialing her number.

_Hello?_

"Hi, is this Lizza?"

_Yes. Who is this?_

"My name is Cable. I called you because I need your help. I've heard that your good with electronics."

_Yes, I'm very good with things of that nature. What do you need my help for?_

"I can't really explain until I meet you in person. It's very important. I can tell you a little more but I need you promise that you won't tell anyone else."

_Um... okay. I promise not to tell anyone else._

"It's about trying to bring runaways back." She was very quite for a few moments.

_I see. So, where would you like me to meet you?_

"In front of the hospital at noon this Saturday. There wikk probably be others out there waiting too.

_I'll be there._

"Thank you.

_Are you going to be there too?_

"Yes."

_Well, I'll feel better about all of this if I meet you first. Before anything else happens._

"That's fine. I'll be out front waiting."

_Good. I'll see you then._ She hung up. I dialed the next number and had a conversation similar to the one I had with Lizza. I finished all the calls in fifteen minutes. One thing was always the same with each person. They wanted to be sure that I would be there. They wanted to meet me before anybody else. It's weird. I'm only seventeen and they're all middle pretties, but it's not like they know that yet. But I guess if I was in their position, I would want at least one person I could turn to. A person I could trust. I can handle that, I only hope I don't let them down. If this doesn't work not only will I have failed Valen, I would have failed all of them. That's another reason why this has to work. If these people agree to help they'll also be deciding to trust me, and I won't let them down. I looked up at the clock. It was only four thirty so I still had two more hours.

My thoughts drifted a little and then I was thinking about Dameon and the piece of paper with his number still on it. I had meant it when I told him that I would call him, and when I had told him that my schedule was about to get very busy. I was just going to have to make time. It would be nice to spend one day with him and not have to worry about anything else. I know I only met him a few days ago but I'm really starting to like him. There's just something about him... I was still thinking about Dameon when someone knocked on the door and I remembered that Ever, Valen, and Maddock were still waiting in the hall. I groaned internally. I just wanted to sit here and think about Dameon. No, scratch that. I wanted to actually be with Dameon, not think about being with him. Well, the sooner I finish up this, the sooner that can happen. With that thought fresh in my mind, I got up and opened the door. Everyone looked at me expectantly.

"They all agreed to come here and to keep it a secret." I smiled at them. They kept saying that it was amazing and that they didn't know how I had convinced them all and things like that. It was nice to hear but right now I just wanted this day to be over so I could see Dameon. " Yup. It wasn't really that hard after I told them it had to do with runaways. Well, I need to get going. I have a few more things I need to do so... I'll see you all later." They said a few more things and then they let me go. I headed to the lounge to get something to drink and to try to find Dameon. Sadly, Dameon wasn't in the lounge and I actually had things to do so I grabbed a bottle of water and went back to work.

Finally, it was time for me to leave. I walked into the lounge and grabbed my stuff. I heard the door open and turned to see Dameon walking up to me. I smiled.

"Hey, how was your day?" He asked.

"Kinda boring."

"Mine too. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yup." We made our way to the door. It was a nice night, if you ignore all the noise, and the fireworks had already started. I grabbed Dameon's hand and we started walking. We didn't say much but I was okay with that. It didn't take us very long to get to my dorm. I hugged Dameon and he told me good night. I watched him walk back to his dorm, wishing we could have spent more time wiht each other. But I would see him in the morning. With that thought, I headed up to my room. I took out my speech. I had to have this memorized by Saturday. Ugh! What I really wanted was to see Dameon. I think I was becoming obsessed. Oh, well. I'll just have to wait until morning. I took a shower and changed then I sat on my bed and started reading my speech. After about the third time I read it I fell asleep, eager for morning to come, when I would see Dameon again.

_I tried to get to the meeting but it didn't work out that way, but I will in the next chapter. Hope you guys liked this one! _


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